The ghast and Basilisk. at 2x speed, are a problem. The carrion crawler is a different one (and is responsible for my most memorable death, when I thought it was an orc captain.) Homunculus is harmless. Everything else at low level just isn't much of a risk, assuming you have _tele. Certainly going without FA and no reasonable escape is likely to prove disastrous.

This is perhaps more a case of the right artifact being found by the right character at the right depth as opposed to a super-crazy overpowered weapon. My level 14 half-orc warrior won this drop from Mughash at 700' (DL 14). I think it's the *10* dice of damage from a Main Gauche that caused my eyes to bug out (but fortunately, my eyes are protected from blindness). If and when I reach the endgame, this weapon will still be a legit choice for hunting down unique demons.

the Main Gauche of Rathrada (10d5) (+12,+8)
Dropped by Mughash the Kobold Lord at 700 feet (level 14)

Slays demons (powerfully).
Provides protection from blindness.
Cannot be harmed by acid.
Blessed by the gods.

Combat info:
2.3 blows/round.
With +1 STR and +0 DEX you would get 3.0 blows
With +0 STR and +2 DEX you would get 2.7 blows
Average damage/round: 390.7 vs. demons, and 99.4 vs. others.

Thats a fun find! You are doing great for general melee, and will be ok for a long time to come; but demons, beware! Now youre going to look for them, search them out, like an orc possessed.

Hmmm...

a Rapier of Morgul (1d6) (+12, +10)

Slays undead.
Branded with poison.
Can be destroyed by acid.
Grants the ability to see invisible things. Sustains your life force. Aggravates creatures nearby. Drains experience.

i know, right? I hate the new weapons of morgul, i much preferred the heavily cursed 3.X version that felt "deadly cold", something which only an undead could wield.

.. i mean, they *are* useless. Who the heck is going to wield a cursed weapon that drains XP and all it has to offer is a meh damage bonus and slay undead. Slay undead is not something that you need before DL65. Even at early depths you can get more *useful* damage out of a branded dagger.

The cursed ones were useless as well, except as a tool to prevent you from wielding unknown weapons. Now they don't even do that anymore.

I hadn't realized that those were common characteristics of all Morgul blades. I just thought "drains experience" and "sustains your life force" were a weird combination since they are directly opposed to each other. Yeah, I agree the old curse, where you can't let go of a weapon until the curse is removed, made the game more interesting.

They are not--quite--useless. They work as a swap weapon vs undead. The enemy attacks cantvharm you. Yo kill him fast, so the drain life has minimal effect. And tou can see him. Bows of Nazgul used to be good for SI, but they drain life too fast now.

u) the Cutlass of Cualad (1d8) (+9,+5)
Dropped by Nár, the Dwarf at 1600 feet (level 32)

Cannot be harmed by Acid.

Combat info:
1.1 blows/round.
With +3 STR and +0 DEX you would get 1.3 blows
With +0 STR and +2 DEX you would get 1.3 blows
Average damage/round: 0.

Always a pleasure.

White dragon scale mail 'Uineil' [14, +25] <+15>
rLightning, rCold, rNether -- breathes cold for 100 damage.

which made this subsequent piece seem ordinary in comparison:
Gold Dragon Scail Male 'Orgunend' [28, +23] <+3, +5>

+3 Intelligence
+5 Searching Skill

rFire, rCold, rElec, rAcid, rPois, rLite, rDark, rSound, rNexus, rNether, rChaos, protection from Fear, sustain Wisdom, Speeds regeneration, grants Telepathy.
Makes a strong attempt to remove a curse.

I guess that is +15 speed? Yeah, that is pretty spectacular, tho a good speed ring is about as useful.